A New Beginning
by DesertZero
Summary: Commander Shepard managed to get to the Citadel. This story is my canon for what really happened after Shepard got there. It follows my Shepard and her love Liara, and begins at the point where Shepard opened the arms of the Citadel.
1. Chapter 1

_Foreword:  
>Normally i like bittersweet endings, but this time it has to be a happy ending. So if you don't like happy endings, do not read^^ And i am a romantic, so it may get a little cheesy in some parts. Also, i hope you don't have any problems with reading my fanfic, because i wrote it in OpenOffice, and there it looked quite different. I somewhat tried to restore the original look of the text. If that's a problem, please pm me.<br>_

_Enjoy reading :) (i hope)_

„Come on, we HAVE to find Shepard!"  
>It was Liara's voice, but it sounded like it came from a far, far away place. Commander Selene Shepard wasn't sure if she really heard something, or if it was simply her head messing with her again.<br>Barely drifting at the edge of consciousness, she still leaned against the computer console, which she used some time ago to open the arms of the Citadel. Shortly after that she had collapsed, and hasn't been able to move since.  
>It's said, that in the last moments before ones death, one relives his life in fast motion.<br>But instead, Shepard only relived the memories of all the people and friends she sent to their deaths, because she gave the wrong orders or wasn't fast enough:  
>Jenkins, Kaiden Alenko, Mordin Solus, Thane Krios, and the faces of all the soldiers she saw in the camp, and who gave their lives so that she could reach the beam to the Citadel.<br>Even the faces of her parents who lost their lives during a raid of batarian slavers, or the „face" of Legion, who gave his life for all Geth, came to her mind.  
>But after all those sad memories, the face of the most important person in her life came to her mind:<br>Liara, the blue Asari who was even more important to her then her own life.

„Move it! I'm NOT going to mourn her a second time!"  
>She even could hear her voice. Even though it was clearer and louder than last time, Shepard still believed it was only her imagination.<em><br>Dammit, it would be great to see Liara one last time... to feel her skin again... see her smile one last time..._ she thought, _i'm sorry_,_ Liara... i promised to always come back, but i think this time won't be keeping my word. I already lost too much blood. But at least i made sure that you will live. _  
>Even with no strength left to move her body, that thought alone made her smile a little and send a tear down her cheek.<p>

* * *

><p>Liara had somehow convinced Joker to send the second shuttle down to pick her and some others up. She didn't knew exactly what happened, but after she woke up and couldn't find Shepard's body with the rest of those who ran for the beam, she was sure that Shepard somehow got to it.<br>Then on the Normandy, she convinced Joker to dock on the Citadel.  
>Now she walked in front of most of the Normandy crew, looking for Shepard. Nearly the whole crew walked behind Liara, guns ready, ready to kill everything that tried to stop them.<br>If it survived the first wave of Liara's biotic attacks.  
>She was determined, to let <strong>nothing<strong> stop her from finding Shepard.

„Come on, we HAVE to find Shepard!" she yelled without turning her head to the rest of the crew.  
>She activated her Omni-Tool, and accessed a map of the Citadel. <em>Good, we're still heading straight for the part where the Catalyst must have connected to the Citadel.<em> _Hang in there Sel..._  
>She turned around a corner, then another, every time moving a little bit further away from the rest of the crew.<p>

„Move it! I'm NOT going to mourn her a second time!" she yelled, again without turning her head towards the crew, which now has fallen quite a bit behind._  
>She has to be alive...<em>  
>She turned around another corner, where she nearly ran into two husks. But she simply smashed them with her full biotic force into the walls and continued walking. Another turn, then again. After some more husks and turns, she walked into a corridor which was full of human corpses.<br>But her mind was focused, fading everything out except one thought:  
>Shepard.<p>

She walked past all the corpses,until she got to the end of the corridor, and again turned around a corner, seeing stairs leading up to somewhere. She once again looked at her Omni-Tool, and then she knew where the stairs led to. Not being able to hold back any longer, she began running the stairs up. Once at the end of the stairs, she nearly stopped at the horrendous sight.  
>Shepard was there, leaning against a console.<br>And by the looks of it, she was really close to death.

* * *

><p>„Shepard!"<br>This time the Liara's voice was way too clear, for Shepard to believe that it was her imagination. She somehow managed to open her eyes, but couldn't see very clearly. She only saw something that looked somewhat like a husk, but wasn't able to determine what it really was._  
>Dammit, the Citadel must still be full of cannibals and husks...<em> _And i can't even move a finger..._  
>But after that person moved closer she realized that it was Liara, not a husk.<br>„Dr. Chakwas! I found Shepard. She is still alive. Hurry!" Liara yelled into her Omni-Tool, shortly before she squatted down besides Shepard.  
>„Selene, i'm here. Don't die on me now..." Liara said with a shaky voice, and took Shepard into her arms „you promised to always come back! And you always keep your promises."<br>Liara placed Shepard's head on her breast, and started caressing the left side of her head with her free right hand._  
>Liara... you... i'm so glad you're here<em>...Shepard wanted to say, but she had no strength left to talk.  
>Instead, overwhelmed by being able to see Liara again, she simply let her tears flow freely down her cheeks.<br>„Dr. Chakwas, please! Shepard is..." Shepard could hear Liara talking again, but mid sentence she couldn't hold onto consciousness any longer._  
>I'm... sorry...<em> were her last thought, before she finally lost consciousness.

* * *

><p>Liara felt the tension suddenly leaving Shepard's body. She looked down, only to see Shepard with closed eyes, and not moving at all.<br>„No, Shepard! No, no, no, no..." _Please don't die on me now... __Please!_ She turned her head towards the entrance, „Chakwas!"  
>Just a few seconds later, the elderly woman entered the room. Behind her the rest of the crew, weapons ready. Most of them looked a bit shaken and pale.<br>„Doctor Chakwas, Selene..." Liara started, but was cut off by the doctor. „Move it, Liara!"  
>She realized after a look at Chakwas stern face, that the doctor was probably Shepard's best chance. Hesitantly she laid Shepard on the floor. Chakwas stepped to her side, and Liara stood up and took a few steps back, her eyes solely focused on Shepard.<br>A Marine from the Normandy knelt down at Shepard's other side, and both he and Chakwas began immediately treating Shepard.  
>„This is bad," Chakwas muttered „really bad. We have to get her to the Medbay... No. Our Medbay can't handle such wounds." She beckoned the two crew members who carried the stretcher. „But we still have to get her there. We can't treat her here. Help me heave her on the stretcher."<em><br>Oh no... _Liara thought to herself unable to do anything. All she could do was watch as Chakwas and some of the crew heaved Shepard on the stretcher. She couldn't take her eyes of Shepard and at the thought of loosing her again, tears started to well up in her eyes.  
>Her thoughts were so focused on Shepard, that she didn't realize that Chakwas was talking to her.<br>„Hey Liara! Snap out of it!" Chakwas snapped her fingers in front of Liaras eyes. „If we don't get Shepard to the Normandy right now, she will die!"  
>„Right!" Liara replied, and ran in front of the crew as they started making their way back. She activated her Omni-Tool and signaled Joker. „Joker, we have Shepard! But she is critically wounded and Doctor Chakwas said that the Normandy can't handle such wounds... We're back at the Normandy in..." Liara stopped for a second and looked at her Omni-Tool, "3 minutes."<br>„Roger that. ETA 3 minutes" Joker replied and Liara cut the connection.

Shortly after that, Liara's Omni-Tool came to live again.  
>„This is the SSV Normandy to all allied ships. We have Council Specter Shepard. Alive, but in critical condition. Requesting emergency medical backup. Repeat: Council Specter Shepard on board. Critical condition. Requesting emergency medical backup." it was Jokers voice. Liara had somehow tapped Normandy's communication systems.<br>„SSV Normandy, this is Admiral Hackett. The SSV Orizaba has a top-of-the-line Medbay. We will start with preparations immediately."  
>Another, female voice sounded from Liara's Omni-Tool: „Negative. Destiny Ascension here. Our Medbay is nearly on par with the hospitals on the Citadel. Some of our decks are still on fire, but our Medbay is fully operational. And we can move some of the wounded to crew quarters and prepare for a medical emergency."<br>„Destiny Ascension," it was Hackett's voice again „you are lacking doctors with knowledge of human physiology. We are sending some of ours. Normandy, bring Shepard to the Destiny Ascension. Don't worry, we will take care of her there. Hackett out."

A few minutes later, Liara and the rest of the crew arrived at the Normandy, and after getting on board, were on their way to the Destiny Ascension.


	2. Chapter 2

_Author note:  
>I'm really sorry, but right now it takes me ages to write a single paragraph. So i decided to split the content i had in mind for this chapter, and post a shorter chapter 2, instead letting you wait for some more weeks. Enjoy!<em>_  
><em>

* * *

><p>Liara stood outside the Medbay, looking through a window and watched as Chakwas treated some of the more minor wounds on Shepard.<br>But it was true, the Medbay on the Normandy wasn't equipped to handle all of Shepard's wounds.  
>As Doctor Chakwas finished, Liara moved away from the window. She walked up to the door, which opened, and Chakwas stepped out of the Medbay.<br>„It's a miracle that she managed to walk after being nearly hit by that canon. At least seventy percent of her body is burned. The majority of her ribs are broken, some have pierced her left lung. Luckily only her left. The right is unharmed. And she has some major internal hemorrhages and even a shot wound. I could stop the bleeding from most of the wounds. But MediGel can only do so much. Normally i could treat most of her injuries, but not all of those at the same time and on that scale." That was all Chakwas said, before she moved to the tables and sat down.

Shepard recently told Liara that she considered Chakwas a close friend. Mostly because Chakwas was there when Shepard had to talk to somebody, during the fight against the Collectors.  
>And she couldn't talk to Liara since she didn't join Shepard back then.<br>But also because Chakwas, despite her profession and thus seeing more death and pain than others, had preserved a serious but cheerful nature.  
>Now when Liara looked at the doctor, she couldn't see this cheerful nature. All she could see was a tired aged woman.<br>Liara wanted to comfort her. But she knew that all she would say would sound hollow, because Liara knew all too well: Shepard's chance at surviving were negligible at best.  
>So instead of trying to comfort Doctor Chakwas, she stepped into the Medbay and sat down on the edge of Shepard's bed, hoping that they would soon arrive at the Destiny Ascension.<p>

Some minutes later, Joker's voice sounded through the ship's speakers: „Approaching Destiny Ascension. Better not waste any time and get her up here."  
>It took Doctor Chakwas no longer than a minute to get Shepard ready for transport. Two crew members then carried Shepard to the elevator, accompanied by Doctor Chakwas, Liara and Engineer Adams.<br>„I'm glad this isn't the SR-1. Just think about how long it took us in that elevator to get up to the bridge. You could watch the Elcor version of Hamlet, and finish it before you got to the next deck..." joked Engineer Adams, receiving a glare from Liara.  
>Fortunately for him, only seconds later the elevator stopped and the door opened, cutting the glare short.<p>

While Joker took some last corrections to the course, they walked from the elevator to the airlock, where Liara took a glimpse out of the windows on the bridge.  
>While mostly concerned about Shepard, she couldn't hold back her surprise and gasped at seeing the Destiny Ascension. The Normandy was approaching the Destiny Ascension from the front, so Liara could clearly see: The left and upper „fin" of the ship were gone.<br>They got closer and closer, so it became even more visible that more than half of the ship was blackened, most likely from fires or enemy canon hits. Some parts still showed signs of burning fires inside the ship.  
>„Yeah, they call that „<em>some of our decks are still on fire"<em>." Joker said after hearing Liara's gasp. „I don't want to know what they really mean when they say _„half of our ship is destroyed"._ That thing must have some insane barriers... and armoring. It cost us a lot of ships, but right now i'm really glad that we saved that ship back then."  
>Though not visible to Joker, Liara nodded.<br>„Final approach." Joker said, while pulling the Normandy up alongside the Destiny Ascension.  
>Liara turned to the airlock, waiting for it to open.<p>

Seconds later Joker completed docking procedures and the airlock opened. At the other end of the gangway, which connected the two ships, were already Asari and Alliance doctors waiting. Doctor Chakwas went ahead of the group, followed by two crewmen who carried Shepard on a stretcher and Liara at the end of the group. Engineer Adams decided to stay back and start repairing the Normandy.  
>Upon entering the Destiny Ascension, Doctor Chakwas instantly began briefing the other doctors about Shepard's condition.<br>During her time on the Normandy, and lately spending a lot of her time with humans, Liara got quite adept reading human faces. While Chakwas explained them Shepard's condition, Liara could see the hopelessness in their faces grow.  
>She didn't want to see that, so she looked away, looked around while the Asari doctors guided her and the group to the Medbay. There were many Asari lying at the floor. Some wounded from explosions, some simply due to exhaustion. Others leaned against walls, sat on consoles or were already repairing or working. Most of them showed the same expression on their faces: relieve, gladness, some were outright happy.<br>Up until the point they saw the group moving through, and the person who was being carried on the stretcher. Since the arrival of the Reapers, everybody knew the face of Commander Shepard.  
>And now, everybody realized why they were able to win the battle against the superior forces of the Reapers.<p>

It took them about two minutes to get to the Medbay. When they arrived, a room was already prepared and ready to start the treatment. Doctor Chakwas stopped in front of the room and stepped aside, letting everybody go in before her, except Liara. She grabbed Liara's arm and pulled her to herself. "Liara, you need some rest, and you can't do anything in there. You stay out here. Leave Shepard to us." was all Chakwas said, and before Liara could reply anything, stepped into the room and closed the door behind her.


	3. Chapter 3

Liara kept pacing up and down in front of the room where the doctors still treated Shepard. She stopped for a second and activated her Omni-Tool.  
><em>9 hours? What are they doing in there? <em>she thought, then deactivated her Omni-Tool and started pacing again.  
>Her constant pacing made everybody around her nervous, but nobody dared to come near her and ask her to stop. Liara glared at the one doctor who tried until he barricaded himself in a room, which he hasn't left since.<br>_What are they doing? 9 hours is..._ The door besides Liara opened, and she immediately turned towards it. She waited nervously for Doctor Chakwas, while the other doctors left the room. Every one of them looked tired and discouraged. After the fourth doctor, the door closed again. She waited for some seconds and then was about to open the door and step in, as the door opened again, Doctor Chakwas at the other side of it. Liara looked at the doctor and realized that she looked even more tired then the last time she saw her.  
>Chakwas looked back at Liara, then turned around and leaned against the door frame. Liara stepped besides her and they both looked at Shepard, who laid on a bed.<br>"Except the burns, we could treat all her injuries. But that is all we could do. I spare you the details, but right now the machines are the only thing keeping her alive." Chakwas turned towards Liara. "I'll be honest with you. I've never seen Shepard in such a bad shape. I know she survived death once already... But a second time..." She let out a long sigh. "I don't know. I just don't know. But if someone can survive that, it's her."  
>Liara recognized that the last part wasn't really meant for her. Chackwas spoke it rather to herself, but Liara nonetheless took comfort from it, because it was true.<br>Now she turned her head towards Chakwas "May I...?" She pointed towards Shepard.  
>"Sure." With that, Chakwas turned around and left the room.<p>

Liara waited until the door closed behind her, then walked up to the bed. Shepard laid there unconscious on the bed. Except for her head, shoulders and arms, her body was covered by a blanket. Those parts that weren't covered by the blanket, where mostly wrapped in bandages. But strangely, her hair was untouched. Liara was surprised, but didn't mind it being uncut, because she liked Shepard's dark-red, shoulder-length hair.  
>She walked around the bed to Shepard's left side, and sat down on the edge of it, so that Shepard's bed was between Liara and the door. This way Liara could see in an instant when someone came into the room. She brushed a lock of hair out of Shepard's face, like she did so often when they both were alone, then took her left hand between her own.<br>"Hey Selene. You did it again. But this time you saved the whole galaxy." She looked down at Shepard's face. "Just promise me to not die on me now. Not again. I lost you once already, and I don't think I can bear it a second time." Some tears started to stream down her cheeks. "And don't forget, you promised me marriage and a lot of little blue children."  
>Suddenly the door opened and Liara looked up. "Garrus!" Liara lifted her right hand, which until now rested on Shepard's hand, and wiped her tears away. "I am so glad that you're still in one piece..."<br>"Yeah. Me too." He nodded at Shepard. "How is she?"  
>"Not so good. Chakwas told me, that Shepard is in really bad shape. She... She probably won't make it..."<br>"Oh..." was all Garrus replied, and then they both simply looked in thoughts down at Shepard.

After some minutes Liara broke the silence.  
>"So," she looked back up at Garrus, "how is it out there? Have you heard any reports?"<br>"Yeah. I've heard some reports while I was on my way here..." he also looked up, and as far as Liara could tell, with a somewhat pained expression. "And nearly none were good. We got hit hard. I mean, really hard. Fifty percent of Hammer were whipped out just a few minutes after landing on earth. And the rest sustained heavy loses while we headed for the beam. And if it had not been for Shepard, we would also have lost the rest of the fleet in under an hour."  
>"The rest of the fleet?" Liara asked shocked. "What do you... How many ships have we lost?"<br>"In those two hours we have lost about sixty percent of the fleet. Another twenty are too damaged and had to be abandoned. And right now every available ship is out retrieving escape pods. " He stopped there for a moment. "Shepard won't like it when she hears that..."  
>"You can't tell her that." Liara interrupted him. "You know that she takes each death personal. If she survives this, that news will kill her for sure."<br>"I know. And it gets worse. Javik, Lieutenant Commander Ashley Williams and James Vega are MIA." He stopped another moment.  
>"But there are some good news. Edi is still in one piece." Garrus let out something that sounded like a relieved sigh, "And on my way here, Tali contacted me. She is also alive and at the outpost, getting her wounds treated."<br>Liara threw him a smile. "I'm happy for you. I know what Tali means to you."

After another minute of awkward silence Garrus continued. "But we've won... Shepard won the war for us. Nobody knows what she did, but after that sudden burst of... energy from the Citadel, all Reapers just stopped. They're now drifting, by the looks of it."  
>"And the ground troops on Earth?" Liara asked and looked back at Shepard.<br>"I've heard multiple reports that they are turning on each other. It seems that the Reapers are also no longer controlling them. Now the troops on Earth just have to hold out and wait until the Reaper troops wipe themselves out. And there were reports coming in from Palaven, Tuchanka and Thessia stating the same situation we have here, Reapers doing nothing and Reaper troops killing themselves."  
>"Oh, that's great news..." but Liara's thoughts were again focused on Shepard.<br>Realising that Liara was lost in thoughts, Garrus let out a sigh. "The Citadel is still full of Reaper troops, and we may need the Hospitals soon, so they are already putting squads together. They need everybody who can hold a gun, and they want me leading one of the first squads." Garrus turned around and opened the door, "You are in no shape to hold a gun. You better stay here and watch over Shepard."  
>Liara looked up as Garrus walked out the door.<br>"Garrus..." Garrus stopped and looked back, "I'm sorry. I am glad to hear the news about Thessia and Palaven. I know I should be really happy about it, it's just..."  
>"Shepard." he finished the sentence for her. "I know how you feel. You just stay here with her and wait until she wakes up."<br>"Thank you, Garrus."


	4. Chapter 4

_Good news...? What good news?  
><em>Liara slowly straightened up and opened her eyes. She was surprised to look straight at Garrus. He leaned backwards against the door at the other side of the room, arms crossed in front of his chest.  
><em>Garrus? What is he doing here?<br>_"I came by to check in on you." He answered Liara's unsaid question. "A lot of people are concerned about you."  
>"Concerned about me? I'm... I'm fine Garrus."<br>"On my way here, an Asari doctor approached me and said that you have left this room only once the last two days." He lifted his right hand and pointed at Liara's left arm, "You haven't returned any calls or messages from your Omni-Tool, and you look a bit pale. And the last five minutes I tried to wake you up, and only after mentioning _"good news" _you realized I was here. And you think I believe it, when you say you are fine? Liara, when was the last time you slept?"  
>Liara looked down at Shepard's face. "I'm... I haven't really slept since the attack on the Cerberus headquarters. I had so much to do, and so little time. You know, helping the survivors on Thessia, helping with the Crucible, collecting information and forwarding it to where ever it is needed... The little time I had I spent with Shepard since we didn't know when we would get another chance. And the time we spent together we didn't exactly sleep... So..."<br>"So you didn't sleep for at least three days. And I was told that you also didn't eat anything since you entered this room two days ago." He stepped away from the door towards her. "You know that isn't healthy, even for Asari, right?"  
>"I know." She replied. "But I have no appetite. And I just can't sleep since she is in this condition." Liara looked down at Shepard. "Every time I try, I wake up after minutes, fearing that she's gone."<br>"But you know, Shepard will be mad when she wakes up and finds you half dead."  
>"Don't worry. That won't happen. But lets change the topic." She looked back up at Garrus. "How is it out there?"<br>Garrus took in a deep breath. "The Reapers haven't moved since the end of the battle two days ago. So everybody is convinced that they really are dead. But now we have another problem. We don't know if they still exert their power to indoctrinate. You remember the dead Reaper we got the Reaper-IFF from?" He stopped for some seconds. "No you weren't with us back then."  
>"But I bet you read the reports and know what happened." He continued. "That one still had the power to indoctrinate... So the Systems Alliance is assuming the worst. They have declared the Reaper "corpses" and the area around them off-limits. Nobody is to come closer than about 5 kilometers, until they figure out how to deal with them. And because of that, most major cities on earth had to be declared off-limits. I have yet to hear how Thessia and Palaven will deal with the Reapers."<br>"And how about the clean-up on the Citadel?" Liara asked.  
>"It took some time to establish a landing zone. There were some harvesters still roaming about. It took our fighters and gunships time to destroyed them all, but once they were gone we were able to go in with shuttles. And after somebody got the brilliant idea to ask the Geth for help, we made some serious progress in clearing the Citadel. Thanks to their FTL communications it is easier for the squads to coordinate attacks, especially when they encounter Banshees or Brutes. And instant updates on enemy and allied troop movements is really handy. Thanks to the Geth we cleared a large part of the Presidium... You remember the good news I mentioned? There are still some people alive." He raised a hand to stop Liara, before she could say something. "Only a handful, about a hundred. But maybe there are more groups."<br>"But how?" Liara asked. "To survive against Reaper troops... Even we needed heavy and military-grade weapons against them. How did they get their hands on..." She suddenly realized and looked down at Shepard. "Those... weapons..."  
>"Yeah. Shepard. You remember that Shepard went out of her way to help other people on the Citadel? Some crew members on the Normandy joked about it, and some called her creepy. I also wondered about why she is doing that. Well, it seems like she got C-Sec some heavy weapons and the plans for the turrets Cerberus used. C-Sec used those plans to deactivate the turrets, and later used them to fortify their own positions. And she also organized a militia. She saved those lives, without being there. At least that is what the survivors told us. I would guess that all the other things she did on the Citadell contributed to this too." He shook his head. "I worked closely with Shepard for years now, and she still manages to surprise me. And before I forget it, there are some more good news. We cleared the part of the presidium where the Huerta Memorial Hospital is located. The Hospital is better equipped to deal with humans than this MedBay and it is still intact. So I talked to Doctor Chackwas, and she agreed that Shepard will be better of at the Hospital. We can transfer Shepard in one or two hours. Don't worry, we have guards everywhere. Nothing will happen to Shepard."<p>

About two hours later, Liara sat in a shuttle en-route to the Citadel. Garrus sat across from her, Shepard on a stretcher between them. She looked up at Garrus, who sat there in full armor. He was busy calibrating something on his assault-rifle, and she knew that he doesn't want to be disturbed while calibrating something.  
>She looked around at the other people: Doctor Chackwas sat besides Garrus, busy typing things in her Omni-Tool. And there were three more guards with them on the shuttle.<br>Liara looked back down on Shepard.  
>"Doctor Chackwas," she said without looking up, "how is Shepard really? I could read most of the instruments, but I don't know much of the human physiology. So, how is she?"<br>The doctor looked up from her Omni-Tool, and after some seconds she carefully answered. "Considering that her condition didn't get any worse, I would say that she still has some fight in her. But that is all I can say. We still have to wait..."  
>"Incoming message." The pilot interrupted her, "Landing zone is compromised. Three of our squads are currently engaged with two Brutes. We can't land there. I'm changing course to a landing zone a bit farther away..."<br>"No!" Garrus and Liara said simultaneously.  
>"They're easy to kill, when you don't have to dodge every three seconds." Garrus continued and stood up. "Fly us in there, but keep your the airlock once we are within breathable air inside the Citadel's Mass Effect field. I will take care of them."<br>He put his assault-rifle down where he just sat, then turned to a guard and pointed at his weapon. "That's a Black Widow, right?" The guard nodded, then handed Garrus the weapon. He took it, then moved to the airlock. "Shepard used the Black Widow quite often. She said, once you get used to the weight and the recoil, this becomes one of the best sniper-rifles you can own."  
>Liara also stood up and moved to the airlock. "Yeah, she was quite fond of that weapon. Used it until she got some Geth weapon."<br>Garrus looked up from the Widow, but before he could say something to Liara, the pilot reported from the front: "Approaching landing zone. Opening the airlock."  
>Few seconds later the airlock opened. Liara and Garrus looked down upon the landing zone, where the battle took place.<br>Garrus raised the Widow and looked through the scope. "I take the left one. Well, let's see how good the Black-Widow really is..." He shot the Brute, which walked to the left, in the left arm and as expected, the Brute looked to the direction the shots came from. Garrus used this opportunity to shoot the remeining two bullets directly into its head, down its spine, and the Brute simply fell to the floor where it stood.  
>"Not bad. Not bad at all." He lowered the Black Widow just in time to see the other Brute exploded into pieces midair. He looked at Liara, asking "Feeling better now?"<br>"No. Not really." She turned to the pilot. "Get us down there. The Brutes are taken care of."


	5. Chapter 5

Garrus was right. On their way to the hospital, nothing happened to Shepard. And that, despite having encountered some lonely Husks and Cannibals more than once . Not because of the guards. They often had to leave their post to help fight. Garrus too, after receiving reports of heavy fighting, left to fight some more Reaper forces.  
>But because of Liara.<br>The way she dealt with those Husks and Cannibals made everybody understand that she would let nothing come between Shepard and the Huerta Memorial Hospital. After an enemy came into sight he was either ripped apart by a Biotic explosion, or slammed into a wall so hard, that the guards feared the walls could give in.  
>It took them longer than expected to the hospital, since a lot of the elevators weren't working, and they had to take detours because of fights and other obstacles. After about 15 minutes they arrived at the elevator that was active and could take them up to the hospital. The guards stationed at the door called the elevator.<p>

A minute later the elevator stopped at the hospital and the door opened.  
>"Oh my..." Doctor Chackwas uttered as the group stepped out of the elevator. Liara, who now walked behind Chackwas as it was her field of expertise now, looked around. The hospital was full. Except for a small path from the elevator to the door at the back of the room, everywhere she looked was either somebody standing, leaning on a wall or lying on the ground. And with the exception of the doctors and nurses who where running around, everybody was injured.<br>"And if I have to clear some space myself..." Liara started muttering.  
>"That won't be necessary," Chackwas interrupted, "while on the shuttle I made sure they knew we were coming. I also mentioned the name "Shepard". One should think that that name counts for something these days."<br>With that said, Doctor Chackwas led them straight through the room to the door on the other side, and through it. Liara suspected that it was because of Doctor Chackwas nobody tried to stop them. She looked like a doctor and looked like she knew what she was doing.  
>The other part of the hospital was also full of wounded, just not as packed, as these people were heavily wounded and needed a little more space for treatment.<br>They walked a few more steps towards the rooms in the back, and stopped, just as the door of one of the rooms opened. They could hear two voices arguing quite loud with each other.  
>The first voice was distinct Salarian. Their way of talking without pause was indistinguishable. "I already told you. You have to leave this room. We need this room for an important patient."<br>"And I already told you, that I am the new Alliance representative to the Citadel Council. I doubt that there..."  
>"Very important patient on it's way here. We need this room. You either leave or I will call somebody who will make you leave."<br>"You wouldn't dare..." A short pause followed, then the voice continued. "Okay, I will leave! But you will hear about this!"  
>The Alliance diplomat who had, by the looks of it only a broken arm , stormed out of the room, directly past the group.<br>The Salarian doctor followed him out of the room and stopped. "Ah, Doctor Chackwas, Doctor T'Soni. Please, this room." He pointed at the room he just left. "I already informed the whole staff. Our best doctors are here, and on the case. Leave her to us."  
>That was all he said. <em>No "don't worry", no "she will be alright"? A tactful Salarian... <em>Liara thought while the guards, which were carrying the stretcher, put Shepard down on the bed and left the room. Then Doctor Chackwas turned to her.  
>"Liara, I have to go get some updates and orders from the Alliance. I will stay in touch, and when I am back I will personally supervise her treatment. Doctor." She gave the Salarian doctor a nod and walked out of the room, leaving Liara with the Salarian.<br>Liara turned to the doctor. "Doctor, if you need anything to increase her chances, tell me. No matter what or how small the chance, tell me. I have certain connections. No matter what it is, I'll have it here in 24 hours."  
>"That would be good. We are really low on everything. So we already started a list of things we need. We wanted to send it to the fleet and ask for help, but if you can get it here..." He nodded. "I will send you the list immediately. That would be a tremendous help."<br>"Good. I guess you don't mind if i stay here?" Liara asked, but here tone clearly showed that she wouldn't take a no for an answer.  
>"No, of course not. I'll send a chair for you. If you would excuse me, i'll let the staff know that Shepard is here. And finish the list of supplies we need."<p>

To the surprise of the whole medical staff, Liara kept her word. About 24 hours later the last of several shipments arrived, bringing the hospital everything they needed to effectively start treating. Every time somebody asked Liara how she did that, she simply replied she had friends. Except for the Normandy crew, nobody knew that she used her connections as the Shadow Broker.

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><p><em>After long last chapter 5... there is a little afterthought (more or less) in my profile. Check it out if you want to.<em>


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